Modern displays repeatedly “refresh” or “redisplay” content. Typically, a display will have a refresh rate of about 60 Hz. Accordingly, display data is presented to the display at least 60 times per second, or at least once every 16.6 milliseconds. It is noted, that conventional displays refresh the displayed content regardless of whether the content has changed. That is, irrespective of whether the display data changed, at least once every 16.6 milliseconds, display data is moved from memory through the display pipeline to the display. During periods where fast moving content is displayed (e.g., video playback, game play, scrolling, or the like) the update frequency is necessary to provide a consistent viewing experience to the viewer. However, during periods where static content is displayed (e.g., reading a webpage, viewing static images, or the like) the update frequency includes repeatedly processing the same data in the display pipeline, which can lead to unnecessary power consumption by components in the display data pipeline as well as memory components.
A few modern displays include features to “self-refresh” the display. More specifically, the display includes memory to cache or store the contents of the display data buffers. As such, during periods where the display data is static, the display can refresh from its internal memory as opposed to requiring the display pipeline to provide the display data, which is fetched from the system's display data source at each refresh interval. Accordingly, the display pipeline can be placed in a lower power state. However, many modern displays do not have a self-refresh capability. Furthermore, in some instances manufactures do not implement self-refresh capabilities because it can significantly add to the cost of the device, for example, by requiring additional memory to be added to the display, or it cannot be added due to size or thermal limitations in the design.